Kirkepiscatoid

Today’s discussion revolves around 2 Cor. 12:10 when Paul says, “In my weakness is my strength.”

Reflection questions:

1. Reflect on how weakness is celebrated in this passage. Write about your own experiences of weakness and what strength you found in them.

Even backing up, in verse 9, Paul says that God told him “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” The power of Christ, to me, is that Christ willingly CHOSE to be “not in control of his destiny.” He CHOSE to take the “weak position” for the greater glory of all of God’s kingdom, including us. That is a hard choice for me to even ponder, because it is definitely not in my nature to “choose the weak position”.

In my own life, when I have been in the “weak position”, when I have felt weak or cowardly or in a situation where I have no control, I never wanted to be in that position. The problem of course, is that I’m there anyway, and I have two choices—continue to resist and be bitter and upset, or finally give in and decide I will learn from it. What I have learned, as much as I resist that moment, as much as I avoid “giving in”, is when I finally give in, over time, I will learn something that ultimately makes me stronger and wiser. I really HATE admitting that!

2. Meditate on the ways in which your own weaknesses have led you closer to, or further from, the affirmation of life.

For the most part, they have led me closer to affirming my life and my place in God’s kingdom, but this is not an easy thing to admit. My moments of weakness have given me an awareness of “how I present my inner self to God”, because all pretense is stripped from me in my moments of weakness. I am presenting myself to God at those times in as much of a “what you see is what you get” position as I can. These moments with God, in the beginning, feel naked, revealing, and lonely at first, but I have found if I just sit still and BE there with God, I will walk away feeling fed and clothed. These moments really hurt in the beginning but by the time I get to the end, I feel more comforted. It’s just hard as hell to go forward and PRESENT myself to God when I feel weak, I’d rather hide!

3. List the gifts provided to you by people, the natural world, and the Spirit. Write about your essential need for, and interdependence with these gifts.

Most of my gifts involve an openness with accepting the quirky parts of other people, and a very non-judgmental nature when I am one-on-one despite the fact I have very strong opinions! I am sure this comes from the pain of rejection I felt in my moments of weakness. I also have an incredible sense of humor and a sharp wit, and I am positive this is from the old adage “Comedy = tragedy + time.” I love giving away these gifts. People seem to really love the unique way I can provide them at the right time. Giving these gifts makes both of us happy!